3HP router with Bosch 1617 or PC 890 form factor?

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am woefully uninformed when it comes to routers and related items.

I own a Jessem 02310 Rout-R-Lift II for use with PC 690/890, Bosch 1617/1618, DeWalt 610/618, Craftsman 17543/17540/28190

I may be creating some frame and panel cabinet doors. I used a raised panel bit, and it is a bit much for my Bosch 1618 (2 1/4 HP). I can do it, but, it is slow going. OK, my test door was some ridiculously hard wood. Probably much easier on oak or cherry.

I created three styles of doors:



Plywood door
Raised Panel bit
Table saw raised panel


Sadly, it was the raised panel bit door that was strongly preferred.

I cut a hole in my saw stop side table, reinforced it, and installed my router lift there, so, if i had to replace my router lift, I would like to find something with the same size top (such as the Woodpeckers Precision Router Lift V2 or the Jessem Master-Lift-II).

I really do not want to spend over $600 for a new router and a lift, but, if I did, I would probably go with a PC 7517 or the Milwaukee 5625 (not that I have used either).

Oh, and would a vertical raised panel bit help? I have never used one, but, I could easily build a fence that made this usable / possible on my router.

[Ben Rivel]

Going through the list of compatible routers for you lift at Jessems website (LINK (http://www.jessem.com/ROUT-R-LIFT_II.html)) it doesnt look like there are 3HP routers supported. It looks like youre out of luck unless you can somehow modify the lift to support a larger router. That said I bet your lift is worth a bit and selling it would definitely help pay for a newer one that will support a larger router.

[Steve Jenkins]

First thought is you aren't trying to do the raised panel in one pass are you? I've done a 1-1/2"radius round over with a PC890 by making several passes.

[Greg R Bradley]

It isn't physically possible to have that much power in that diameter router case within the other size limits of a router.

FWIW, I just setup a couple 2-3/4" table edge bits in my router table with a Bosch 1617 to do some test pieces for a desk build. It struggled to do that profile in red oak in several passes. Once I chose a profile, I used my Milwaukee 5625 to do the final work on the actual desk. It did it so easily that it was amazing. Amana says "not for handheld router use" on that bit but the reality was that with a substantial extra base on the router, it was very comfortable.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

First thought is you aren't trying to do the raised panel in one pass are you? I've done a 1-1/2"radius round over with a PC890 by making several passes.

I took many passes to get it where I wanted it. It was at least 4 or 5 passes. It managed to do it, but, it felt like it labored a bit. I set the router to the slowest speed. Not sure if that was too slow or not. If I could find a router of the same diameter with more horsepower, which I don't think that I can, I would consider it.

[Jim Becker]

If you do go with a new router setup and PC for the router, be sure you get something that has variable speed/multiple speed. The 7518 would give you that and it's the defacto work-horse for this kind of thing.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

If you do go with a new router setup and PC for the router, be sure you get something that has variable speed/multiple speed. The 7518 would give you that and it's the defacto work-horse for this kind of thing.

Oh, multiple speeds.... Had not occurred to me that a router would not support that. Yes, very important.

[Curt Harms]

Doesn't the Milwaukee 5625 have above the table controls? Maybe save on the lift, unless the built-in controls are not precise enough. The vertical panel raising bits look interesting but I suspect you'd need a tall fence and good feather board setup to keep the bottom of the panel pressed firmly against the tall fence. I do at least 3 passes with a horizontal panel raiser. The first kinda shallow, the second removing most of the material and the last pass pretty shallow to clean up.

[glenn bradley]

Doesn't the Milwaukee 5625 have above the table controls? Maybe save on the lift, unless the built-in controls are not precise enough.

I used the 5625 this way for quite awhile and it is usable. A replacement for a lift it is not and the 5625 in the original Woodpecker PRL is router table nirvana for me; just the right mix of function without too many doo-dads. Since Andrew has had a lift, going to a built-in solution might be disturbing. If the power requirement outweighed the lift functionality, this would be a cost effective way to get there and as I said, I did work this way for quite some time.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

It isn't physically possible to have that much power in that diameter router case within the other size limits of a router.

You could get a 2.2Kw chinese spindle and VFD from Ebay. 3HP, and 80mm diameter. I think a 690 is 3.5" (88.9mm), so you'd need to fabricate some spacers. You can get either air cooled or water cooled, for between $300-$400.
RPM range from about 8,000-24,000.

[Jim Becker]

Oh, multiple speeds.... Had not occurred to me that a router would not support that. Yes, very important.
Yes, it's not "optional" when you need to swing big cutters. They must be used at a slower speed.

[Don Sundberg]

I only gave $200 for my 3hp Delta shaper. It did raised panels in red oak and cherry so far in one pass. Of course it also ate the corner off of my coping sled. :eek:

Of course tooling is more expensive and shapers are a slippery slope. I have a NIB PC 7518 that is destined for a lift and CI extension wing on the table saw but I use the shaper for the heavy stuff so far so my Bosch 1617 with its Bosch router table is doing just fine for the little stuff.

(off in the corner shooting spitballs):D